Improved railroad-switch



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YVM. VI-IARTON, JR., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

lMPROVED RAILROAD-SWITCH.

Specification forming4 part of Letters Patent No. 49,668, dated August 29, 1865.

To all whom it may concern: a distance from the rail A of the permanent Be it known that LWILLIAMWHARTON, J r., track that the lian ge of the car-wheel H can of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented pass freely between the two.

certain Improvements in Railroad-Switches; The movable switch-rail D, which is hinged and I do hereby declare the following to be a at h, forms a continuation of the rail B ot' the full, clear, and exact description of the same, turn-out, and this switch-railD is bent to such reference beinghad to the accompanying draw an angle that for some distance from its outer ings, and to the letters of reference marked end, and under the circumstances described thereon. hereinafter, it will tit snugly against the outer My invention consists of a combination ot' edge ot' the rail A, as seen in Fig. 2.

the permanent rails ot' a main track, the rails The switch-rail D is at its outer end ot' the of a turn-out, a movable switclrrod with an insame height as the rail A, but gradually inclined end, and a movable guide-rail, the whole creases in height from the said end to about being arranged and operating substantially as the point y, from which point the rail is condescribed hereinafter, forthe purpose of transtinued to any length desired at a uniform 'erring cars from the main track to a turn-out level, and then it may be gradually decreased without wounding or disturbing the continuity in height until it is ot' the same altitude as the or permanency of the rails ot" the said main rail A.

track, mypresentinventiou possessing one fea- The .rail D is secured to a bar, K, which is jointed to one arm of the leveroF, the latter ture similar to that described in my patent of June 27, 1865-namely, a movable inclined having its fulcrum on a pin, 2'-, and the other rail, by means of which the car-wheels which traverse one rail ot' the track are at the turnout raised above and free from the control of the said rail.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention,Iwill now proceed t0 describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figures l and 2, Drawing No. l, are plan views of my improved railroad-switch; Fig. 3, Drawing No. l, a longitudinal section ot' the track on the line l 2, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, Drawing No.1, a transverse section on the line 3 4, Fig. 2; Figs. 5 and 6, Drawing No. 2, plan views illustrating a modification of my invention; Fig. 7, Drawing' No. 2, a longitudinal section ot' the track on the line l 2, Fig. 6; Fig. 8, Drawing No. 2, a transverse section ot' the track on the line 3 4, Fig. 6.

Similar letters referto similar parts throughout the several views.

A and A' are the two permanent rails of the main track-that is to say, the rails which the locomotives and cars for conducting the main transportation of the line have to traverse, and B and B' are the two permanent rails otl the turn-out which the-cars have to occasionallyr traverse.

The rail B' of the turn-out terminates in a comparatively sharp point, l, where it is at such beneath the rails of the track, and is secured to the guide-rail G, which is hung to a pin,j. This guide-rail is of the form or approximating to the form represented in the drawings, a portion ot' it being made to overlap the rail A', as seen in Figs. 2 and 4, Linder the circumstances described hereinafter, for it should be understood that this guide-rail is much higher than the rail A' ot' the main track.

When the lever F has been operated so as to move the rail D and guide-rail Gr to the position shown in Fig. l, the car-w heels, moving in the direction of the arrow, will traverse the rails A and A' of the main track. Should it be desirable, however, to transfer the cars from the main track onto the turn-out, the lever F is moved in the direction pointed out by the arrows, Fig. l, when the rail D and guide-rail G will be moved simultaneously, the former against the outside of the rail A and the guiderail7 so as to overlap the rail A', all as illustrated in Fig. 2. As the wheels H and H move in the direction ot' the arrow,Fig. 2, the wheel H. will gradually ascend the inclined rail D until the liange ot' the wheel is raised above and free from the control ot' the rail A. vIn the meantime the rim of the wheel H comes in contact with the curved edge of the guide-rail G, which pushes both wheels laterally, so that as the wheels continue to move in the direcarm being jointed to a bar, E, which passes tion of the arrow the wheel H will pass from the rail A ofthe permanent track. to the rail B" of the turn-out, and the flange of the wheel H will cross the rail A of the permanent track and continue its course along the switch-rail D, and thence to the'rail B of the turn-out.

It will be evident without further description that my invention obviates the necessity of cutting and disturbing the integrity and continuity ofthe main track.

he modification illustrated in Drawing N o. 2 is too similar to the invention last described to need a lengthy explanation. The guide-rail G, instead of being situated on the outside of the rail A', as in the former case, is situated on the inside of the rail A, so that the side of the flange of the wheel H will come in contactwith the curved edge of the rail G when it is nec- WM. WHARTON, JR.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. FosTER, JOHN WHITE. 

